Friendship Bracelets
by FaroreWorldshaper
Summary: Spock found his mother knotting strings one day. He became curious. This led to some explanations, and trying new things.
1. Chapter 1: Amanda

**Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek. Wish I did, but I don't.**

A young Spock padded barefoot into the kitchen one morning, to find his mother seated at the table, doing something with several brightly colored pieces of string. Spock furrowed his brow, confused. Was this another Earth custom she loved so?

"Mother, what are you doing?" Spock asked politely. His mother looked up and smiled. "Spock!

She greeted him warmly, voice always holding so much emotion. "Come here! How have you been today, sweetie?"

"Very well, Mother." Spock answered respectfully, pulling himself up onto the chair next to her. "What is it you are doing?" he repeated.

"Oh, just another silly Earth custom." She saw his curious gaze, and laughed. "It's called a friendship bracelet. You make it for your friends."

"How… what is their purpose?" Spock asked, unable to look away from the strange strings. His mother laughed again. It was truly a pleasing sound, and one she did quite often.

"There's no purpose, Spock. It's a gift, to show your friends or loved ones how much you care about them. Oh, don't make that face at me, Spock. You'll have friends, too. Ones you care about. Here, let me show you how to make one. First, you tie the strings together, like this." She said, picking up two differently colored strings and demonstrating. "Then tie a knot like this, with one of them. This is called a half hitch knot. You try. No, sweetie, not quite like that. Try bringing the string through the loop." Spock, brow furrowed with concentration, found himself fascinated by the way the strings came together, forming patterns of colors.

His first attempt ended up as a row of neat, if slightly irregularly sized at times, knots forming alternating colors. She showed him how to tie it off, to form a bracelet that would slip around one's wrist. His mother smiled when he presented it to her, 'as a gift to show his affection for her'. She put it on her arm, and declared she would wear it for the rest of the day, a sentiment Spock found illogical but strangely satisfying.

He spent the better part of two hours perfecting the small knots in his room with strings his mother gave him, satisfied when they were all uniform. As he went down to dinner that night, he noted to himself he would have to look up other bracelet patterns on his PADD, or perhaps ask his mother… when his father wasn't around. He was uncertain if he would approve.

That Gift-Giving Day (His mother insisted on having a day once every Terran year where they gave gifts, in honor of various religious Earth holidays), Spock felt… satisfied, illogically so, on the inside when his mother's face lit up when she opened the red wrapping to find a daisy chain friendship bracelet inside. His father got one, too, with a zig-zagging striping pattern. Both had taken him some time to complete, as the steps were somewhat difficult to understand.

His father did not smile, but quietly put on the bracelet and wore it, like his mother, for the remainder of the day. Spock was intrigued by his new pH testing set, and ended up tested various materials in the household, recording their place on the scale.

**I wrote this because an idea caught me… and wouldn't let me go. I am writing this, still trapped in the arms of the idea. I hope to appease the idea with this. I may write more, though, if you guys think it's worth continuing.**

**Reviews are appreciated! They appease the idea-beast greatly, more than my writing ever could!**


	2. Chapter 2: T'Pring

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Star Trek, which should make you reassured of your sanity's safety.**

**Author's Note: Thaaanks for reviews! Okay, I know this isn't Bones and Jim, but I think I'll do one of them next. Also, I admit to not knowing when Spock was promised to T'Pring. If they said it in Amok Time, I was too busy derping to notice. So… yeah, creative license. Woot!**

When Spock was ten years old, his parents chose him a bondmate, as was custom. Her name was T'Pring, and his parents informed him that he should be grateful for having a bondmate who would care for him in his times of need, that he should always be respectful of her, and that he ought to be happy for being bonded to such a lovely young lady. His mother said that last part.

Spock had the idea of making his bondmate a friendship bracelet as he lay alone in his bed, thinking over the words of his parents and tentatively feeling the new door created in his mind, still so fresh and fragile-seeming. It seemed that T'Pring fit his mother's description of a friend… however, would a Terran gift be appreciated by a Vulcan girl? There was also the unfortunately all too possible disdain he would receive from her if he gave her such an emotionally significant gift. In the end, he decided for it, as it seemed like a good way to show respect and appreciation for a person who would certainly be a significant part of his life.

He spent an entire day thinking about a pattern which would be ascetically pleasing to her. He decided on a simple three-color bracelet which had two colors alternating in the center, and one as a border. He chose the colors red and indigo as the colors for the center, the colors representing his house and hers, respectively. Simple black would be the border. He started the bracelet the following day with lamnu wool yarn, which he had obtained with his own allowance, which had been saved up in case of some such occurrence for some time. As he made it, he was quite careful to make each and every knot exactly the way it should be, a task which had gotten easier the more he practiced.

It was completed by the end of the week, even with the high amount of homework given in the local school to fifth-years. Spock always found making bracelets always soothing, somewhat like meditation. His mind would calm and still as his focus became solely on the small knots creating a simple, yet pleasing, pattern. He actually made two, as he thought that if she found the idea pleasing, they could both wear one.

(Of course, he was fully prepared to have all his ideas, and the bracelet for her, rejected. He had realized such a gift may not be considered acceptable by a Vulcan, and may be interpreted as a symbol of being shackled to a half-vulcan, surely the ultimate shame. But he could hope that she would be open-minded.)

He walked to her home by himself, with permission from his parents, with the bracelets in his pants pockets. He rapped on the door with his knuckles, and in zero point eight minutes the door opened, to show his bondmate on the other side. She regarded him coolly. "What is it you desire, Spock?" she asked.

"I request you to walk with me." he answered simply. Her brows furrowed.

"I have homework and household duties. Will this take long?"

"No."

"Then I will walk with you." she replied, stepping out of the doorway and shutting the door behind her. They walked in silence for a few moments as Spock gathered his thoughts. Then he spoke. "In light of our recent bonding, I have created you a gift. It may not interest you; nevertheless, I feel obligated to offer it." At T'Pring's curious nod, he stopped walking and took his hand out of his pocket, revealing the bracelet. He presented it to her. "This is called a friendship bracelet. It is a Terran custom to share these bracelets among friends, or others one cares deeply about. I thought," he continued, feeling somewhat awkward at her staring at him, face betraying no emotion, "that we could wear these, as it is only logical for us to be friends if we are to be bondmates." She had been looking at the bracelet, then at him. Now she turned her attention back to the bracelet. "May I?" she asked. Spock nodded.

She took the bracelet out of his hand, running her fingers along the small bumps. She looked at the pattern, the colors. Spock knew she recognized the significance of the colors. "I find it interesting," she finally admitted, "as well as quite ascetically pleasing to me." She slipped it onto her wrist, examining her arm with a neutral gaze. Spock took out the other bracelet in his pocket. "I have created another, that if you wish, I would wear as well." She looked at him. "That would be pleasing to me, yes." she said, rather formally. Spock put his on his own arm.

"It is only logical that we become friends." T'Pring said thoughtfully, as they continued walking, beginning to turn in such a way that their path would loop back to the house. "I am also quite curious as to how these are made. Perhaps, if we both have schedules allowing corresponding free time, you could show me how to make such bracelets." Spock agreed, inwardly feeling very pleased. Not being rejected had already caused him satisfaction, but being openly accepted… well, happiness was not a logical feeling, so that could not be what he was feeling.

"They are made by knotting strings together," he said as they began walking back to her house. "Perhaps we could compare schedules. I could come to your house and show you some patterns, if you like."

"Yes," T'Pring replied. "Spock…" she said. Spock looked at her, alert. They stopped walking.

"I thank thee for thy gift." T'Pring said, formally. Spock bowed deeply, as was tradition. They were soon at the door, and T'Pring slipped inside without another word, even as Spock began turning back to his house, satisfied he had made a friend.

**Note: I'm kind of planning this out, maybe, with each chapter documenting Spock's different encounters with people regarding friendship bracelets. Wow, that looks stupid when I type it out. But yeah… there shall be more chapters. :P**

**Please review! I am still trapped by the idea-beast, and trying to please it the only way I can! Reviews help me escape!**


	3. Chapter 3: Lurien

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, but I own my OC until they gain sentience and leap out of my computer screen.**

**Yes, this is focusing on an OC of mine and Spock's interactions. Sorry if that's disappointing.**

Starfleet Academy, Spock had decided, was every bit as rigorous as the Vulcan Science Academy was famed to be. The key difference between the two lay in the fact that the Vulcan Science Academy's challenges were purely academic in nature. However, at Starfleet Academy, every aspect of how one's life at Starfleet would be was emphasized, and every course was meant to push you to your limits, whether physical, mental, or social. Spock was especially challenged by the social aspect of Starfleet Academy.

Spock was not the only one who's culture did not lend itself to the befriending of others which Starfleet promoted greatly. There were several others, those who could not help flinching at the raised voices of excited friends or shying away from contact, even some among the humans. But knowing that fact did not prevent Spock from learning which hallways were least crowded at certain times, as well as choosing the seats away from the groups of people who whispered amongst themselves and passed notes during class. Of course, the latter was probably just a desire to concentrate on the teacher's lectures.

Spock had returned to his dormitory after his last class. He had to admit to feeling slightly tired, which was logical given the circumstances. In addition to the core classes, he was currently taking four optional classes in his first year, consisting of advanced xenobiology, advanced physics, music, and Earth mythology. It did not seem like much at first, but each class met at least three times per school week and was quite challenging. He started on his homework as usual, but only got halfway done before deciding to take a break. As he moved his chair back from his desk, his roommate looked up.

Spock had been somewhat troubled upon learning (last minute) he would have a roommate-how would this affect his productivity? Would he, himself, be an adequate roommate to someone with an eighty-two point three five percent chance of having more 'common' social interactions than he? He had pondered this for a while, when the door to the dorm opened and a person walked in with a rolling suitcase.

_Not human, _was Spock's first thought, looking at the person's grey scales and large, pointed ears mounted high on their head. _Emotional _was his second, noticing the sharp teeth bared in a lazy grin. The person turned their gaze towards Spock, eyes changing from deep green to a pale orange. "Are you Spock?" they asked.

"Yes," Spock replied guardedly. The person's eyes changed back to a deep green, relaxed grin reappearing. "I'm Lurien." they said. "I think I'm your roommate… I only just arrived here a few minutes ago. I'm a last minute transfer," Lurien said somewhat awkwardly as their eyes shifted to a color similar to that of an Earth peach, ears pinning back to the side of their head. Spock could not help what he said next. "Your eyes are fascinating," he said. "What determines their color change?" Lurien smiled, different from the lazy grin of before. Eyes were deep green again. "They're bioluminescent, is the Standard word. They change color according to my mood." That made sense now that Spock thought about it. "I have already set up my belongings on this side of the room; would you like help arranging your own?" Lurien shook their head.

"No thanks, I'm fine. Thank you for the offer, though."

It was a relatively uneventful first interaction. Nothing particularly stood out, except perhaps Spock's complete lack of social skills. Yet Lurien seemed to enjoy Spock's company after that, sitting with him at lunch and speaking with him when possible. It turned out they shared galactic history as well as music class, and Spock found Lurien was rather musically inclined, well versed in music theory as well as an able composer. Lurien was also a rather eccentric individual; Spock returned to their dormitory one day to find myer (Lurien's race, it turned out, had a different set of pronouns not entirely translatable to Standard) entire side of the dorm painted a bright violet color. He had to admit it was a rather agreeable tone. When he asked Lurien where they got the paint, myiec merely shrugged. "The True Value down by the coffee shop… would you like me to get you some?"

"Whatcha doing, Spock?" Lurien asked, 'sitting' in a contorted position in myer chair which had ended up with myer head near the ground and feet wrapped around the chair's back.

"I am taking a break from my homework." Spock answered. He wouldn't say more than that, though, as he took out some strands of differently colored nylon strings from his backpack. He kept his back towards Lurien as he knotted the strands together-he had been able to keep myvelt from finding out about this so far, and didn't want to ruin it now. After about ten minutes, he had completed it, checking one last time for defects and finding none. "Lurien." he said. Lurien looked up, myer ears perking up. "Hm?" myiec said.

"Hold out your hand, please." Lurien's eyes shone pale orange with curiosity as myiec held out a four-digit hand with a grey, scaly palm and neatly trimmed claws. Careful to avoid actually touching myer hand, Spock dropped the striped friendship bracelet into myer palm. Lurien's eyes turned a deep, deep green with delight. "Wonderful!" myiec exclaimed, examining it and putting it on promptly. "Thank you very much for your gift, Spock of Vulcan." myiec said solemly, looking Spock directly in the eyes. Then grinned again, sharp teeth showing.

"Hey, now I'm going to have to return the favor! Friends have to show mutual respect, after all."

It was a week later when Spock found a-_beautiful _was the only word for it-lyre, carved of massang wood in the Vulcan style on his bed. He thanked Lurien for it, whose eyes were peach with embarrassment. "It's nothing," myiec tried to mumble. But that did not change the warm, illogical feeling Spock had first gotten upon finding out he had a friend at Starfleet Academy.

**Sorry about not updating. I could give a whole bunch of excuses, but I'll just stick with saying that FREAKING LIFE SUCKS. I've been trapped in the arms of this idea with no chance to write for what, two weeks? Jeez. I honestly feel that this chapter could have been better written, but I don't know how. Please feel free to give honest feedback on the suckiness of my author skills.**

**Lurien belongs to me, but you can borrow myvelt. Don't know why you'd want to, but… whatever.**

**Hey, please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Uhura

**Disclaimer: I, alas, do not own Star Trek. In any way.**

** WOOO! Still alive after all this time! I really have no excuses, other than the fact that the Final Fantasy series is amazing and what do you mean, I need a job to live? I am a goddess of Hyrule, foolish mortal.**

** Anyways, if anyone remembers this story at all, here's a new chapter for you up finally, as promised! The tone of this one is slightly different from previous ones; there's no dialogue. Please tell me how you think it works out.**

Spock sat quietly at one of the small desks at the rec room. At this hour, he was the only one there, and it was a rather odd sight to see one stoic Vulcan bent over the table, working on something invisible to a casual observer.

The door _swoosh_ed open and Nyota Uhura walked in, smiling. She pulled out the chair opposite Spock's, and when he inclined his head, she sat down, pulling strings of different shades from her pocket. The two friends looked at each other, Uhura with a smile and Spock with softened eyes, then bent over their individual friendship bracelets.

After being transferred to a starship after a brief teaching stint-to the _Enterprise_, no less-Spock had been somewhat… overwhelmed. Working as a laboratory assistant to Doctor Monroe meant that his life was full of shouted orders, quick cleanups of spilled liquids, and lots and lots of trials. It was fulfilling, but… stressful. Spock soon found himself making friendship bracelets in his quarters when he had no more than a few minutes off at once. At first he didn't know what to do with them, as he had no _friends _on the Enterprise. He ended up sending them _en masse_ to his mother when they stopped off at Starbase Six, but bought more lanyard there as well, which led to making more bracelets. They helped him cope.

Uhura had found him one evening (although it was all relative in the vacuum of space) in the rec room, silently making beautiful bracelets. The two soon bonded over a mutual appreciation of arts, and a history with friendship bracelets-Uhura had explained how her family used to sit outside and make bracelets for one another as signs of love, and Spock explained how his mother taught him how to make the bracelets. The two exchanged patterns, and soon it was a common occurrence for them to sit in mutual silence, making bracelets. Uhura often gave some which she made to Spock, who gave the ones he made to her. They both had a veritable collection of them. It was a very odd thing to explain to anybody, but the two knew how much the small, knotted strings meant to each other. They were friends, and in the end, that was all one needed to know.

Uhura tied off her bracelet with a dextrous knot, and with a pleased smile, presented it to Spock. It had a diagonal striping pattern, with each stripe a different color and many stripes being different kinds of string altogether, causing a hodgepodge of color and texture. It made him think of the Vulcan philosophy, of infinite diversity in infinite combinations. Although he could not find the words to express his gratitude, Uhura knew how touched he was by the softening of his expressions, and grinned. The two often spent their sessions together in silence, speaking with the language of knots and colors.

**Whoah, that one was a bit weird. I haven't written these in a while, so you'll have to forgive my choppiness. If you liked this, please review; if you didn't like it, please, **_**please **_**review and tell me that. If people think this one sucks, I'll probably rewrite it.**


End file.
